1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a battery powered ambient light sensitive flashing warning light to be removably attached to a traffic cone, barricade or similar traffic control device to alert on-coming motorists and pedestrians to a potentially hazardous roadway condition.
2. Background Art
Cones, delineators, barrels and barricades have long been used as traffic control devices to alert motorists and pedestrians to hazards, detours, closures, construction and similar temporary roadway conditions. However, these traffic control devices are often hard to see, particularly when it is very dark or when adverse whether conditions prevail. At night, a motorist may have to depend solely upon his headlights reflecting off a distant traffic control device to enable the motorist to first locate the device and then execute a maneuver corresponding with the particular roadway condition. However, it may be difficult to distinguish the traffic control device from a crowded background, especially when the motorist is tired or driving at a high rate of speed. The foregoing can lead to an accident if the motorist is not able to quickly and accurately detect the presence of a traffic control device so as to allow sufficient time to react to the existing roadway condition and execute a required maneuver.
Battery powered warning lights have been used in the past in place of or along side traffic control devices. Such conventional warning lights typically have a large lens in the order of about eight inches in diameter. Moreover, two large six volt batteries are commonly included to power the light. The foregoing results in the conventional warning light being undesirably large, heavy and expensive to manufacture. This expense is compounded in the event that the conventional light needs to be replaced because of theft, breakage or malfunction.
It would therefore be desirable to have a compact light weight and relatively inexpensive warning light available to be easily and removably attached to a traffic control device to draw attention to said device and thereby alert on-coming motorists and pedestrians to a roadway condition in time to permit the motorist or pedestrian to properly react in accordance with such condition.